Boris Johnson has said there will be no rush to leave the EU and claimed there would be no changes in the short term.

The leader of the Vote Leave campaign attempted to ease fears about Brexit, insisting that there was no need to invoke Article 50 yet - the procedure which triggers a fixed two-year countdown to leaving the EU.

“There is no need for haste,” he said. “As the Prime Minister has just said, nothing will change over the short term except that work will have to begin on how to give effect to the will of the people and to extricate this country from the supranational system.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street

The former Mayor of London praised David Cameron as a “brave and principled man” after the Prime Minister announced he will resign in the wake of his defeat in the referendum on British membership of the European Union.

Johnson , who is the bookies’ favourite to become the next Prime Minister, said the Brexit vote gave the UK a “glorious opportunity” for a brighter future.

Addressing the millions of young voters who backed Remain, he insisted the result did not represent a retreat into isolationism and that Britain would remain a “great European power”.

While the UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union, Scotland overwhelmingly opted to remain and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has since said the Scottish Government are looking at holding a second independence referendum.

“To those who may be anxious, whether at home or abroad, this does not mean that the United Kingdom will be in any way less united, nor indeed does it mean that it will be any less European.”

Johnson was speaking shortly after Mr Cameron visited Buckingham Palace to tell the Queen of his decision to hand over to a new leader by the Conservative’s party conference in October.

The Prime Minister announced his decision outside 10 Downing Street hours after Leave secured a shock victory in the historic referendum and minutes after the markets opened with carnage in the City of London.

More than £100 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 as the index fell more than 7%, while the pound also crashed 8% against the US dollar.